The Rodents Are Coming!

The rodents are coming! The rodents are coming!

It was a hot, smoky, miserable summer in the San Joaquin Valley. I, for one, was really looking forward to fall. And it seems I’m not the only one. Our rodent counts are hitting near record levels. It appears that this year’s conditions have produced a bumper crop of the little furrys and now they are looking to move in for the winter.

We closely track the rodent activity for our customers and while I was preparing the quarterly summaries it became very clear. Starting in September the rodent counts started to spike, and not just the normal seasonal increases, but spikes that ran right up to the top of the graphs like a rocket ship to mars.

Should everyone be concerned about this rodent bonanza? You bet. Should we be worried? A little. Should we panic? Nope, it’s just time to get back to basics. When you want to keep someone or something out of your house, CLOSE THE DOORS! Exclusion is the most effective method of pest prevention. Keeping doors closed and sealing gaps in the exterior of a structure is always the first and best step in rodent control. Taking it further, we recommend reducing attractive conditions on the exterior. Reducing exterior storage, thinning or elevating shrubbery, cutting trees back away from the structure and removing access to any obvious food sources will also help light up the “NO VACACY” sign to send the unwanted visitors down the road.

Trapping and baiting are also useful procedures when performed properly. We use trapping to eliminate rodents that have entered a structure, but if you don’t seal up or correct the condition that allowed them to enter you may be in for a never-ending job. Baiting is used primarily to reduce exterior populations. Any baiting program should be performed by licensed professionals or at the minimum, with extreme care, since rodenticides are materials designed to kill mammals and some of our best friends are mammals too.

The best rule for rodents is keep them out, and when in doubt, call us out.

Bob Binger, President

Modern Commercial Pest Control, Inc.,